Letters to the Editors

IPAs: an evolutionary dead end

"How IPAs are changing" [June 20] did a good job covering the current state of IPAs. It was humorous to read about the convoluted schemes these dinosaurs have concocted to justify their continued existence.

IPAs evolved out of physicians' fear of managed care and their yearning for a cheap way to "do something" about inadequate reimbursement. But since antitrust laws generally prevent IPAs from negotiating fees for their members, most were doomed from the outset.

Now, large health plans dictate reimbursement rates to doctors, who have been reduced to thanking them for being allowed into their networks. The only way to stop this trend is through the negotiating leverage of larger, fully integrated, group practices.

Randy R. Bauman
President, Delta Health Care
Brentwood, TN

Insist on copays up front

The advice to resort to your normal collection procedure to collect unpaid copays makes no sense [Practice Management Q&As: "The rules of copays," June 20]. It will likely cost you more to collect the copay than it's worth.

Make it office policy to inform your patients when they schedule their appointments that a staffer will collect their copay before they see the doctor. Then if, at the time of service, they don't have cash available, your staffer should suggest that they use a check or credit card to fulfill their obligation. If they still say they can't pay, she should offer to reschedule the appointment. In my experience, at that point, almost all patients manage to come up with their copay or ask where they can find the nearest ATM.

Proper training of the front office staff can bring your A/R in line and reduce the time spent chasing unpaid copays.

David J. Zetter
Health Care Professional Management Services
Mechanicsburg, PA

You can't always be accessible

I had to chuckle when I read internist Judith A. Paley's article about hard-to-reach physicians ["When the doctor is in(accessible)," June 20]. I could have my office open 18 hours a day and still somebody would complain that I didn't return a call on time or that I took a vacation day when she was sick.

Long ago, I gave up trying to be always accessible to everyone. I've learned that the customer patient is not always right, and that it's hard, but necessary, to sometimes say No. I try to do the best I can and give service as conscientiously as possible. Basically, I simply strive to be fair, not only to my patients sitting in the waiting room or calling on the phone, but also to myself, my family, and my office staff.

Leslie Strouse, MD
New Albany, IN

It's important to recognize that policy flows from the top, down. If your staff is overly protective of your accessibility, they may have gotten the impression from your complaints or comments that you don't want to talk to patients.

Frank J. Weinstock, MD
Canton, OH

Edited by Liz O'Brien,
Associate Editor

Address correspondence to Letters Editor, Medical Economics, 5 Paragon Drive, Montvale, NJ 07645-1742. Or e-mail your comments to meletters@medec.com, or fax them to 201-722-2688. Include your address and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and style. Unless you specify otherwise, we'll assume your letter is for publication.

Letters to the Editors. Medical Economics Sep. 19, 2003;80:9.